A micro-fiche of the type with which this invention is concerned comprises a rectangular piece of heavy film or plastic on which has been developed a plurality of horizontal rows of pictures, scenes or images which are quite small and must be enlarged to allow for a clear and detailed viewing thereof. A handler or indexer for the micro fiche must provide for the exhibition of only one image at a time on a screen and usually will have a large number of such images.
It is believed that the closest prior art to the subject invention is U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,406 which issued June 14, 1977, on a Micro Fiche Handler. The apparatus disclosed in this patent is designed primarily for industrial and commercial use and is highly complex. It includes two separate actuating devices for causing horizontal and vertical indexing. Moreover, when the fiche is being shifted from one position to another, the light source of the projector is still in effect and the glaring light produced thereby is objectionable to the user of the machine. It is highly expensive to manufacture as compared to the subject indexer and for that reason is not ordinarily intended for commercial distribution, to dwellers in private homes and small commercial institutions.
It is believed that a micro fiche indexer which is the epitome of simplicity, which is literally fool-proof in operation, which may be cheaply manufactured, and which disables the light source of the optical system as the fiche is being indexed will fill a long-felt public need.